To Save Her Child

by Margaret Daley

  Again the words I can’t accept perched on the tip of her tongue, but one look at her son petting Buddy shut that impulse down. Her son was frightened more than most children because of the memories of his abusive father and his temper, all directed at her. Although he’d only been four when she’d finally successfully escaped Keith, a raised voice still shook Robbie, and any man with curly blond hair like his father’s scared him to the point that he tried to hide if he could.

  She didn’t realize she’d stopped walking until Josiah’s worried voice said, “Are you all right?”

  She blinked, noting her son had paused by a big tree and waited for them to catch up. “Thanks for the offer to help train the dog when we get it.” She hoped by the time the puppy was old enough to be separated from its mother, she’d know for sure who the man in the woods was.

  The corners of his eyes crinkled as he grinned. “Good. My sister has been teasing me lately. Accusing me of being a hermit when I’m not working.”

  “When did you leave the Marines?”

  “Eighteen months ago. Alex and I grew up in Anchorage. We both left, but she came back when our parents died in a small plane crash and took over the running of the family business, Outdoor Alaska.”

  “Your store has really grown since I first arrived.”

  “That’s all my sister. She’s driven.”

  “And you aren’t?” She started walking again, the darkness of the woods throwing Josiah’s face in shadows.

  “Driven? I’m not sure I would use that word to describe me.”

  “What word would you use to describe yourself, then?”

  “I’m just not as driven or singularly focused as I once was. Except when searching for a lost person—when someone else’s life is in the balance.”

  What was he not telling her? Studying his closed expression, she knew there was so much more he kept to himself—like she did. She couldn’t share her past with anyone. That would put her and her son in danger. What happened today had ended well for Robbie, but if Keith ever found them, she knew it wouldn’t. The thought sent a shudder down her spine.

  When they arrived at the camp, Robbie saw Travis and ran toward him with Buddy trotting alongside.

  Ella scanned the area and glimpsed Detective Thomas Caldwell talking with David. “I hope Michael was found,” she said to Josiah.

  “I’ll get Robbie and Buddy and be right there,” Josiah said, and then headed toward the two boys, who stood near a couple of camp counselors and Travis’s parents.

  Both Thomas and David were frowning. That didn’t bode well for Michael. Ella’s chest constricted at the thought of the boy still out there. Not far from David stood his wife with Michael’s mother. Tears ran down the young woman’s face while Bree consoled her.

  When Ella joined David and Thomas, she asked in a low voice, “Has Michael been found yet?”

  David’s mouth lifted in a grin. “Yes, just two minutes ago. He hurt himself. Jesse thinks it’s a sprained ankle. He’s bringing him in.”

  “Thank God he’s safe. Good thing Bree is here. She can check him on-site.” Ella spied her son and Josiah making their way toward her.

  David peered at his wife with love deep in his eyes.

  David had been fortunate last winter to rescue Bree, a doctor who flew to remote villages, from a downed bush plane in the wilderness. That had been the beginning of a beautiful relationship, which had just culminated in their wedding on Valentine’s Day. Sometimes Ella wished she had a special man in her life again, but her marriage to Keith had soured her on marriage. But David deserved some happiness.

  How about you? a little voice in her head said.

  She was happy. She had her son, friends, a good church and a fulfilling job. She didn’t need a man to be happy. And yet, when she saw other married couples who obviously loved each other, a twinge stabbed her with the idea of what could have been if she hadn’t married Keith.

  “Travis’s dad told me Michael has been found,” Josiah said.

  “Yeah, Mom. Can we wait until he arrives before going to dinner?”

  Ella slid a look to Josiah, and he answered her son, “Yes, of course.”

  “Good. Travis is staying, too. I’m gonna sit with him until Michael shows up.”

  “Ella, I’d like to ask Robbie a few questions,” Thomas said.

  “Yes, of course.”

  Thomas smiled at her son. “It’s nice to see you again. That picnic David threw on the Fourth of July was great. We’ll need to work on him to have one for Labor Day, especially if his father is going to be the chef.”

  “Yeah. My favorite part was the fireworks.” Still clutching Buddy’s leash, Robbie stroked the German shepherd as he craned his neck to peer up at Thomas.

  “Travis told me what happened, but I’d love to hear it from you, too.”

  The grin on her son’s face vanished. “We were over there.” Robbie gestured toward the line of trees near the camp base. “We heard an owl but couldn’t see it so we thought we would try to find it.” He swung his attention to Ella. “I know we shouldn’t have gone away from the camp, but I love birds. I saw a bald eagle earlier today.”

  “We’ll talk about that later. Right now, just tell the detective what you remember.”

  Pausing for a moment, Robbie tilted his head. “Mom, I think I need to learn how to track. That way I would have known how to get back to camp. We walked for a while, listening to the owl hoot.” He closed his eyes for a few seconds, balling his hands. “When I saw a man with a mean face standing by a tree staring at us, I looked around. None of us could really tell which way we’d come from. We were talking and not paying attention. I was gonna inspect the ground for footprints, but the man started heading for us. We ran. Me and Michael followed Travis, thinking he must know the way. He didn’t.”

  “I understand you all split up. Why?” Thomas asked.

  “Because the man was still behind us. I’ve seen it on a TV show. People split up when they are being chased. That way one of us could run back and get help.”

  “What happened when you did that?” Thomas asked.

  “At first, he went after me, but then suddenly he turned and started in the direction Michael went. I decided to climb a tree, but the first one wasn’t good. The second one was better.” He dropped his head. “Except I couldn’t get down. Then Josiah saved me.” Robbie’s gaze fixed on Josiah.

  “What did the man look like?” Thomas wrote on his pad.

  “A grizzly bear.”

  “Robbie, no kidding around. This is serious,” Ella scolded him.

  “Mom, I know. He was huge—” Robbie’s arms spread out to indicate not only tall but wide “—and had so much dark brown hair all over him. When I was running and looked back, that was what he reminded me of.” Her son trembled. “I don’t ever want to see him again. I promise, Mom, I won’t ever go off like that.”

  Relieved that the description didn’t fit her ex-husband at all, especially all that dark hair, she released a slow breath. “I’m glad you learned a good lesson.” Ella patted his shoulder, realizing the fear Robbie had experienced would be more effective than if she grounded him for a week.

  “Anything else about the man that might help me find him?” Thomas scribbled a few more notes on his pad.

  Robbie stared at the ground, then slowly shook his head. “Nope. I was running most of the time. I didn’t want him to catch me.”

  “Thanks, Robbie, for helping me. You can go sit with Travis if you want now.” While her son handed Buddy’s leash to Josiah then left, Thomas gave Ella his card. “Call me if he remembers anything else. I’ve got police combing the woods right now. Hopefully we’ll find the man. We’ll work on a composite sketch after I talk with Michael. I’d like to show the boys the picture our artist comes up with and see what th
ey think. Okay?”

  “Yes. I want him found. I don’t like the idea someone is out there chasing children.”

  “Neither do I. My partner is checking the database of criminals who target children in Anchorage to see if one matches the description.”

  The realization of how close Robbie had come to being taken by a stranger finally took hold of Ella. The campsite spun before her eyes while her legs gave way.

  THREE

  As Ella began to sink to the ground, Josiah grabbed her and held her up. “When was the last time you ate something?” He looked into her eyes, making sure she hadn’t fainted.

  “I don’t remember,” she answered with a shaky laugh. “I was so worried about Robbie, I wasn’t thinking about eating.”

  “Let’s go sit on the bench over there.” Josiah’s arm held her protectively against his side, and he moved toward the wooden seat off to the side.

  “Thanks.” Ella closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

  When David approached, he said, “I’ll get something to hold you over until you can eat a real meal.” He left for a moment and was back with a granola bar and a bottle of water. “Sorry it’s not more, but this should tide you over for the time being.”

  She took a bite of the granola bar and took a sip of water. “I started thinking about what could have happened if that man had caught Robbie or one of the other boys.”

  “But he didn’t. Keep your focus on that. What-ifs don’t matter.” The feel of her close to him accelerated his heart rate as if he were running with Buddy. He gently eased her onto the wooden bench, then sat next to her, worried about her pale features.

  She dropped her head, her chin nearly touching her chest. Her long blond hair fell forward, hiding her delicate features. What had drawn him to her from the beginning, when he’d met her months ago, were her large brown eyes. One look into them and he’d experienced a kinship with her, as if she’d gone through a nightmare that equaled his. He hoped he was wrong, because being a prisoner of war was intolerable, even for the strongest person.

  “Robbie is all I have. I can’t let anything happen to him. That man could have hurt him today.” Ella finished the granola bar and gulped down some water.

  “He could have, but he didn’t. The boy is safe. The police will find the man who chased the kids. If he has any kind of record, it’ll only be a matter of time before he’s found and arrested.”

  She angled her head to look into his eyes. For a few seconds everything around him faded. His focus homed in on her face. When she smiled, her whole face lit up, and for a moment, he thought he was special to her. Why in the world would he think that? For the past eighteen months, he’d slowly been piecing his life back together, but at the moment he felt as if all he’d been able to do was patch over the wounds.

  “Thanks, Josiah. You’ve gone above and beyond for me. Neither of us got much sleep last night because of Mr. Otterman’s search, but I wasn’t following a dog on a scent. You were. I hate to impose on you about dinner—”

  He covered her hand with his. “I usually have dinner alone after a long day at Outdoor Alaska. Going out with you and your son will be a nice change of pace. Besides, Robbie is expecting me to go. I don’t want to let him down. And you are not imposing on me.”

  For the past six months, since returning to Alaska, he’d gone through the same routine every day—wake up, grab breakfast on the run, work long hours at the store, then go home, eat dinner, play with Buddy and then go to bed. Not much else in between. The only time he deviated from the schedule was when he and Buddy helped in a search and rescue. His volunteering had been a lifesaver for him.

  Dimples appeared on her cheeks. “All right, then. Dinner it is. And there’s more to life than work, you know. I would have thought you would enjoy camping at this time of year.”

  For a second, all he could do was stare at her smile until he realized she was waiting for him to say something. “I used to camp a lot, but since I left the Marines, I haven’t.”

  “Alaska is a great place to enjoy the outdoors, even in the winter. That’s what I love about this state.”

  “I know what you mean.” He wanted to steer the conversation away from him. He glimpsed fellow searcher Jesse coming out of the trees, carrying a boy. Jesse’s dog trotted next to him. “There’s Jesse and Michael.” He pointed in their direction.

  Before Ella could say anything, Robbie and Travis raced toward them. “Well, I guess I don’t have to tell my son Michael is back.”

  “We’ll give him a few minutes to talk with his friend, then leave. I’ve worked up quite an appetite.”

  “It’s all that exercising you did today.”

  “You were right there by my side, looking for Robbie. You must be hungry, too.” Josiah rose and offered his hand.

  She took it and stood. “Thanks for all your help.” When Michael was taken to the first-aid tent, Ella motioned to Robbie to join her.

  Her son skidded to a stop. “Let’s go. I could eat a bear.” Suddenly he swung his head from side to side. “No one has seen a bear, have they?”

  “No.”

  “Good. I really can’t eat a bear, but I’m so hungry.”

  “Then let’s go.” Josiah indicated where his truck was parked. “Would you like to take Buddy, Robbie?”

  “Sure!”

  “I need to talk to the camp director first,” Ella said, approaching the man.

  Josiah watched Ella talk with the guy. From her body language, he could guess what she was saying to the director. It was clear she wasn’t happy with what happened today, and Josiah couldn’t blame her. She was more restrained than he would have been if Robbie were his son. At one time he’d envisioned having a family, but not after his fiancée, Lori’s, betrayal. The thought of her had been what kept him going while he’d been a prisoner of war, but when he’d escaped his three-month captivity, she’d already moved on with her life with another man.

  When Ella returned, her expression was blank except for a glint in her brown eyes. “Okay, I’m ready.”

  “I need to see Thomas for a second.” He gave Ella his truck keys. “Go on. I’ll be there shortly.”

  Josiah jogged toward the tent and waited in the entrance while Thomas finished interviewing Michael. He caught the detective’s attention, and Thomas walked to him. “I know you’re going to let Ella know your progress in finding the man who scared the boys, but I’d appreciate it if you’d call me first.”

  Thomas’s eyebrows shot up. “I didn’t realize you two were so close.”

  “We aren’t. Not exactly. But she’s a single mother. I don’t want her to feel she’s all alone in this.”

  “She isn’t. David and Bree asked me to do the same thing.” He tried to maintain a tough expression, but his mouth twisted in a slight smile.

  Exasperated at Thomas, who he’d known since childhood, Josiah asked, “Does that mean you’ll call me first?”

  “Yes. Count this as me informing you before Ella. One of my officers at the station just called me. He found a match in the database from the description Travis and Robbie gave me, and I showed Michael the guy’s photo. He positively ID’d the guy, so I sent some patrol cars to the last known address of Casey Foster to bring him in for questioning.”

  “It’s probably too much to ask that he’ll be home.”

  “Many criminals do dumb things and get caught.” Thomas looked toward Josiah’s truck. “I see Ella and Robbie waiting for you.”

  “Yeah, we’re going to grab dinner.” Josiah looked up at the clouds as drops of rain began to fall.

  “Go on. I’ll show Travis the guy’s photo. I won’t show Robbie until later. I know what a long day you and Ella had, with the earlier search for Mr. Otterman.”

  “See you later.” Josiah turned to leave and nearly colli
ded with his twin sister. They had similar coloring—black hair, blue eyes—but that was as close as they got to being alike. He and Alex were polar opposites in many respects. They were close, though. She was all the family he had left.

  “Just got back from helping to search for Michael. I saw Ella and her son in your truck. Is Robbie okay?”

  “Shook up but not hurt.”

  “Travis, too. But I understand Michael sprained his ankle.”

  “He hurt it while running, I hear.”

  “At least this one ended well. It’s been a good day for us. Will you be home for dinner?”

  Alex lived in their large family house with a housekeeper and caretaker while he stayed in a small cabin behind his childhood home. He would sometimes eat dinner with his sister and discuss business. The place was really too big even for the both of them, but they hadn’t wanted to sell the house they’d grown up in after their parents died, which was one of the reasons he’d wanted to be involved in search and rescue. It had been the cold, not the plane crash, that had killed them before they could be found. “No, I’m taking Ella and Robbie for a hamburger at Stella’s Café.”

  “I love Stella’s. I’d join you, but I’m half-asleep right now.”

  “See you later, sis.” His stomach rumbling, he quickened his pace.

  The sight of Ella looking out his windshield—as if she belonged there—spurred his pulse rate. He’d avoided getting too close to others since he’d come home, except for a few he’d known all his life like Thomas, Jesse and his sister. But even with them, he couldn’t reveal the horrors he’d endured. His body had healed, but his heart still felt ripped in two. He’d closed part of himself off in order to survive for those three months as a captive.

  He climbed into his cab and twisted around to look at Robbie. “You okay back there with Buddy?”

  The boy smiled from ear to ear. “Yup.”

  Josiah started his truck just as the forecasted rain finally started falling. Twenty minutes later, when he pulled into the parking lot of Stella’s Café, the small storm was already clearing up. When he switched off his engine, he looked at Ella, her head leaning against the window, her eyes closed. Then he peered in the backseat. Robbie, curled against Buddy, slept, too. He hated to wake them up. But before he could do anything, his dog lifted his head and barked a couple of times.